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The Pill Concerns

Iím on the pill and I skip my monthlies regularly so I only get my period about once every three months? Iíve heard differing opinions on this. Iíve had people tell me that not getting your monthly is not bad for you as this happens when pregnant and in the olden days many women spent more time pregnant than not, however, other have said itís terrible for you and can affect fertility and lead to other problems. Can you clear me up on this?

I just want to clarify before I answer. Hormonal birth control pills (i.e. The Pill) have a few placebo pills (pills that do not have hormones in them) that are supposed to be taken each month. Sometime during the "placebo" week, you should have what's called a "withdrawal bleed". Are you not having a bleed each month when you take the placebo pills? If this is the case, have you talked with your doctor, midwife or practitioner about this and if so, what did they say?

I'd also like to know if you had regular cycles before you started on the pill. "Regular Cycles" would be bleeding every 26-33 days (or so) and having a good bleed for 3-5 days.

There are some birth control pills, like Seasonique that are intended to only result in a period a few times per year, is this the type of birth control you are taking perchance? They work the same way as what is being described by Kate, however, it is simply that you are only taking the yellow placebo pills three times per year. Other forms of birth control, like the Mirena IUD can lead to some women simply not having a period at all. There is a lot of debate on whether that is good or bad for fertility. But if it bothers you there are pills that do not have this effect, some include a monthly placebo and a low dose of hormones. There is also non-hormonal BC like Paraguard (a copper IUD).

Thanks, mom2many, for the clarification on the Seasonique birth control. I suppose I assumed that the birth control Melissa was using was the "monthly bleed" type because she used the term "skip my mothlies regulary" but you could be right.

Melissa, I'd encourage you to talk to your doctor to see if you're supposed to be having a monthly bleed or not.

The copper IUD is not hormonal based, but it does have it's drawbacks as well. The way it works is by causing an inflammatory reaction in the uterus which is supposed to kill sperm. However, if sperm and egg do manage to meet, the baby will have a hard time implanting, and if you find you're pregnant, you must remove the IUD immediately, which can cause miscarriage.

Every form of birth control has risks except natural family planning where you watch your fertility signs and avoid intercourse during your fertile window. Natural family planning is just as effective as the Pill when done properly. My husband and I used this for 7 years and we avoided pregnancy that entire time. Then when my husband was ready for a baby (I was ready the day I got married) we just reversed what we had been doing to avoid pregnancy, and we conceived the first month we tried.